Jay Shree Tea triples first-half capital spending to Rs 40.79 crore

Jay Shree Tea & Industries Limited spent Rs 40.79 crore on property, plant and equipment purchases including capital advances in the half year ended 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 13.14 crore a year earlier. The higher outlay came alongside a Rs 42.72 crore cash absorption from receivables and Rs 35.02 crore of net short-term borrowing proceeds.

How much did Jay Shree Tea spend on capital assets?

Jay Shree Tea spent Rs 40.79 crore on property, plant and equipment, including capital advances, in the half year ended 30 September 2026, more than three times the Rs 13.14 crore spent in the half year ended 30 September 2025. As a result, net cash used in investing activities increased to Rs 40.06 crore from Rs 9.15 crore.

The investment outlay coincided with capital work-in-progress increasing to Rs 47.96 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 17.20 crore at 31 March 2026. Property, plant and equipment declined to Rs 424.06 crore from Rs 432.04 crore over the same period, while right-of-use assets fell to Rs 10.96 crore from Rs 11.46 crore.

How did operating cash flow compare with the investment outlay?

Jay Shree Tea generated Rs 48.78 crore of net cash from operating activities in the half year ended 30 September 2026, exceeding its Rs 40.06 crore net investing outflow. Operating cash generation was Rs 6.76 crore higher than the Rs 42.02 crore reported in the corresponding prior-year half.

Cash generated from operations before income tax reached Rs 50.30 crore, compared with Rs 43.79 crore a year earlier, and net income-tax paid was Rs 1.52 crore against Rs 1.77 crore. Operating profit before working-capital changes rose to Rs 41.12 crore from Rs 35.13 crore, while standalone profit before tax increased to Rs 11.36 crore from Rs 9.62 crore.

Working-capital movements partly supported the result. A Rs 32.90 crore decline in inventories and a Rs 28.84 crore increase in trade payables added cash, but increased trade receivables used Rs 42.72 crore and higher loans, deposits and other assets used Rs 26.53 crore. In the previous half year, inventories had declined by a larger Rs 75.64 crore and receivables had used Rs 39.88 crore.

Why did Jay Shree Tea's receivables increase?

Jay Shree Tea's trade receivables rose to Rs 88.59 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 45.94 crore at 31 March 2026, a balance-sheet increase of Rs 42.65 crore. The cash-flow statement separately records a Rs 42.72 crore increase in trade receivables for the half year, reflecting its working-capital presentation.

The receivables increase occurred as revenue from operations rose to Rs 472.34 crore in the half year ended 30 September 2026 from Rs 450.45 crore a year earlier. P&K fertilisers manufacturing revenue increased to Rs 86.89 crore from Rs 45.22 crore, while Tea revenue declined to Rs 247.36 crore from Rs 249.36 crore and Sugar revenue fell to Rs 138.09 crore from Rs 155.87 crore.

Other current financial assets increased to Rs 60.98 crore from Rs 39.70 crore, and other current assets rose to Rs 21.54 crore from Rs 15.42 crore. These movements helped lift total current assets to Rs 422.31 crore from Rs 373.94 crore, despite inventories declining to Rs 226.72 crore from Rs 259.62 crore.

How did Jay Shree Tea fund its first-half cash needs?

Jay Shree Tea reported Rs 35.02 crore of net proceeds from short-term borrowings in the half year ended 30 September 2026, compared with Rs 6.99 crore in the prior-year half. Current borrowings stood at Rs 400.73 crore at 30 September 2026, up Rs 35.20 crore from Rs 365.53 crore at 31 March 2026.

The company repaid Rs 14.33 crore of long-term borrowings, compared with Rs 23.51 crore repaid in the corresponding previous period. Non-current borrowings therefore declined to Rs 24.54 crore from Rs 38.93 crore, while interest paid increased to Rs 18.94 crore from Rs 17.67 crore.

Financing cash flow turned to an inflow of Rs 1.11 crore from an outflow of Rs 36.50 crore a year earlier. Combined with the Rs 48.78 crore operating inflow and Rs 40.06 crore investing outflow, this produced a Rs 9.83 crore increase in cash and cash equivalents to Rs 11.21 crore at 30 September 2026.

What other balance-sheet changes accompanied the higher spending?

Jay Shree Tea's total assets increased to Rs 1,011.92 crore at 30 September 2026 from Rs 933.19 crore at 31 March 2026, while total liabilities rose to Rs 620.73 crore from Rs 552.71 crore. Total equity increased by Rs 10.71 crore to Rs 391.19 crore, with share capital unchanged at Rs 14.44 crore.

Trade payables to creditors other than micro and small enterprises increased to Rs 98.63 crore from Rs 68.94 crore. Provisions rose to Rs 33.82 crore from Rs 17.60 crore and other current financial liabilities increased to Rs 19.25 crore from Rs 13.09 crore, while other current liabilities declined to Rs 9.82 crore from Rs 14.98 crore.

The statutory auditors issued a qualified conclusion because current and deferred income-tax liabilities had not been ascertained or provided for for the quarter and half year ended 30 September 2026. Management said the seasonal nature of Tea and Sugar makes taxable profit difficult to estimate before year-end, while the auditors said the effect of non-provisioning was not presently ascertainable.

Conclusion

Jay Shree Tea's first-half figures show that operating cash generation of Rs 48.78 crore exceeded investment cash use of Rs 40.06 crore, including Rs 40.79 crore of asset purchases and capital advances. The cash position nevertheless depended in part on Rs 35.02 crore of net short-term borrowing proceeds as receivables absorbed Rs 42.72 crore of cash.

The next disclosed items to watch are the completion or further build-out of Rs 47.96 crore of capital work-in-progress, movements in Rs 88.59 crore of trade receivables and Rs 400.73 crore of current borrowings, and the year-end tax provision. Management has stated that current and deferred tax will be provided at year-end, while the auditors have said the interim impact cannot presently be ascertained.